Final Fantasy XIII: Postlude
by Noel Kreiss
Summary: A new chapter in Farron sisters' life is about to begin. Will Lightning be able to find a way to free Fang and Vanille from their crystal stasis? Will Serah be reunited with her lost sister? This is a total remake of FINAL FANTASY XIII-2.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

_Fang and Vanille. Two women from Pulse who saved Cocoon. This is not something that normal people would accept. Yet still, they did it. They freed me, Serah, Hope, Sazh, Dajh, and Snow from our crystal stasis. I wanted to thank them for their noble deed by freeing then from their crystal dream. However, Snow and Serah have wedding in plans so they couldn't aid me, Sazh and Dajh will spend lots of time together like father and son should, and Hope... Hope have to finish his education and go to the university. I was left alone with the task which came to my mind._

However my path was not easy from the very beginning. Chaos caught me in its embrace before anyone could notice. I woke up in a different world. In a world where there was a great city destroyed by the war and covered in chaos. Chaos which seemed to scare even light. Yet light was there, on the top of the crystal tower. I went towards the light and as closer I came, my heart began to grow with strength. On the top there was a great throne.

Suddenly, a woman covered in dark colours appeared.  
"Welcome, my child. I am glad you came."  
"Who are you? What do you want of me?" I was mad, very mad, but woman was still talking.  
"I am Etro, the goddess of death."  
"The goddess? I have enough of wanna-be-gods," I replied, but 'the goddess' was still smiling. She seemed to understand nothing.  
"I called for you," the woman waved with her hand in greeting tone and show me the vision of dark mist consuming me. It was not an easy moment, but I couldn't let her see my weaknesses.  
"Tell me what you want or send me back."  
"You want to help your friends, yes? Oerba Dia Vanille and Oerba Yun Fang?" when she mentioned these two names something happened to me. I don't know exactly what, but I think it was the moment when I started to trust her.  
"Help me? But how the goddess of death can help those in crystal stasis which is already considered the death?"  
"One thing at a time, Claire," I shuddered when I heard my real name. 'So she is the goddess,' I though.  
"Here, my gift for you, Claire," she said and I began to float midair.

My Guardian Corps uniform changed into adamantite armour and skirt decorated with white feathers which attached itself to my waist. My gunblade changed into a sword which looked like an ancient blade from fairy tales and I gained a shield with an emblem of a pink rose.

"Thank...you?" I answered.  
"It is not a problem."  
"So... what do you need from me, Etro?"  
"Do you know legend about how Cocoon and Gran Pulse were born?"  
"I was taught that Lindzei gave birth to Cocoon and her fal'Cie. I found out about the Maker recently so I know little, Etro."  
"There was the goddess whose name was Mwynn and who created two planes of existence: Visible World, from where you are currently, Claire, and the Invisible World where we are now. She gave birth to her only son, Bhunivelze. Bhunivelze in thirst for power over Visible World killed his own mother who entered the Invisible World. His corrupted mind then created a thought which stated that world was cursed to be destroyed and wanted to enter this land to end Mwynn's existence. For this he created Pulse, known as the Maker, whose Focus was finding the Door of Souls. Then Bhunivelze created me, but because of his ill thoughts he didn't give me any powers," a tear fell from Etro's eye. "However, in my replacement he created Lindzei, 'Maker' of Cocoon. Then I joined with Mwynn in the Invisible World. As two goddesses could not co-exist in this reality, Mwynn left this World leaving me alone with task of protecting the world. Later, Bhunivelze fell into a deep crystal sleep leaving Pulse as his guardian in case if the Door opened."  
"Did Barthandelus's actions caused that 'Pulse' to begin summoning that 'Bhunivelze'?" I asked with hope that my battles with gods ended.  
"Yes, Claire. Many lives were lost and that caused Pulse to act. However, Bhunivelze still dreams."  
"O~kay. So what should be done?"  
_"Find Pulse and Lindzei. They are the key which we will use while freeing Vanille and Fang."_

That was the moment when my life began a new. As the warrior of the goddess of death destined only to fight.

*** * * * ***

Serah turned back to see her sister once more and go together like a big, happy family. But Lightning wasn't there. Others noticed that to.

"But...how?" Serah asked herself. "She was just here a second ago!" she shouted into distance.  
"I'm...sorry," Snow whispered. "Maybe she went to look for something that could save Fang and Vanille."  
"And she'd do that alone? She'd left me?" Serah couldn't accept cruel words from the lips of her fiancée.  
"Serah, she didn't left you," that was Hope Estheim like Snow introduced him. "Back there on Cocoon there was a moment when I thought she left me during my journey with her. But she supported me mentally. She just wasn't sure how to act."  
"But that doesn't explain of how she disappeared into thin air!"  
"Hey, girl," that was Sazh Katzroy according to what Dajh said, "sometimes people do things when you least expect is. Just believe that she'll do what she should and she'll come back."  
"So what I should do right now! Sit idly and do nothing!" from Serah's lips flew words of life and faith. "I'll go for the search and I don't care if someone will help me or not!" Serah shouted at them and began to cry.  
"Don't worry, Serah," Snow tried to cheer his fiancée up. "I'll help you find her and everything will be back as it was before the Purge.  
"Snow..."  
"Yes?"  
"Thank you," Serah whispered and fainted.

From the distance they noticed four people: man with fiery hair, one with blue hair, one with gold hair, and a woman.  
"Hey! You're okay!" it was Maqui, blond guy.  
"Not really, young man," replied Sazh.  
"On fluffy chocobos!" Yuj, a blue-haired man, was astonished. "Where's Lightning?"  
"She...disappeared," answered Hope.  
"What do you mean 'disappeared'!" it was the woman, Lebreau. "She surely was with you, yes?"  
"She was, yeah, but when we turned our backs she disappeared," Sazh was explaining situation to the angry woman.  
"I'm not going to look for that girl," that was Gadot, a muscular man with fiery hair. "She walks her own paths like a cat and I surely don't like cats."  
"I agree with you, mister," said Dajh. "Chocobos are funnier than kittens."

Gadot sighed, but the rest of the group laughed.

"Gadot! Stop acting like a kid! Lightning's only family to Serah!" Snow pointed at her fiancée which was lying in his arms and deeply breathed.  
"That's her problem. Generally I don't skirt-chase. Hah! I never skirt-chase!"  
"Snow, I'll go with you!" Hope reported in.  
"Hope, you still have some classes to attend to, right? And what about your dad?"  
"He'll understand, I know it," Hope was assured of himself.  
"No, I can't let you, you too, Sazh," Snow turned to the dark-skinned man with little boy on his shoulders. "You have your own family, protect it."  
"So let me!" Yuj and Maqui said that in the very same moment.  
"You're still kids. And kids should stay outta trouble."

Lebreau opened her lips, but Snow interrupted.

"No, Lebreau, you will take care of Serah when I'll be absent."  
"You're leaving her!" Lebreau shouted at him.  
"And you'll act as a Hero?" added Gadot.  
"That's Snow, so everything's clear!" Hope tried to appease the conversation's atmosphere. "Heroing is in his blood" and he falsely laughed.  
"But first I'll help create a new world," Snow silently said.  
"You always have to act so heroic, boy?" Sazh asked Snow.  
"I do it for Serah. That's my act of love."


	2. Episode One: On the Way to Light

**Episode One**

**On the Way to Light**

The town was slowly waking up to life with first rays of the sun. About six o'clock various birds started their ritual twittering and peeping, and dogs started to bark waking people who were lightly touched by the sleep. An hour later, old women started to leave their homes with their husbands and tend their properties: New Bodhum was full of poultry, excluding few sheep which were loosely walking through the town. Cats started to climb on higher and higher buildings to be able to soak up in warmth of Gran Pulse sun.

In one of the houses there was living a group of three people and two women, but it was hard to call it a 'house' as it was more of merge between a bar and a cottage. In a comfortable bed with white canopy and sky blue bedding on the first floor a pink-haired girl in satin pajamas was waking up. With inquiring glance she looked through the window straight on the beach which was was calmly hit by the waves. She was lying quite long before she came to conclusion that there's no point of rotting any longer in the house which she haven't left for weeks. She approached a simple wardrobe made of a palm wood and pulled out of it a creation which she didn't wear for a quite time: red plaid pleated skirt lined, a white sleeveless dress shirt, a semi-transparent pink sweeper, black thigh-high stockings, and ivory ankle sneakers. She put it on, combed her shapeless hair and pinned them up in a ponytail on the left side of her head like she used to do.

"Serah, wake up!" a male voice came from the ground floor. "Yuj and Maqui devoured a quarter of the breakfast already! If you won't come down now you'll be left with nothing!"  
"I'm coming!" a gentle voice of the girl drew from her lips. She nearly forgot how her own voice sounds.

A moment later, she was in the kitchen where deeply tanned, portly man was instructing two young people.

"You have that twenty-like years, but you still act like insolent pups!" he roared.  
"I can't help that I love scrambled eggs with bacon, Gadot!" the blond man who was on the opposite side of the table which he shared with his interlocutor laughed.  
"Scrambled eggs are not everything."  
"Oh chill out, pal! You won't educate farts like us, right, Maqui?" a blue-haired man sitting next to Maqui poked him.  
"In this case even twenty-six hour education won't help," deeply sighed Gadot.  
"You finally came!" suddenly a dark-haired woman shouted who all out of sudden appeared behind nacks of Yuj and Maqui causing their to baulk and they nearly fell of their chairs.  
"Hi, Lebreau!" Serah sent a warm smile towards the woman.  
"Serah, tell him to leave us alone, okay?" Maqui tried with appealing tone in his voice convince Serah to appease Gadot.  
"He's right: if you're gonna act like that for the next twenty years your kinds will end up being flan meat," Serah said with pseudophilosophical tone after which she started to laugh and so others did that too.  
"Aww, you want be that bad," Yuj said that with forced, appealing tone in his voice.  
"You're hopeless, you, and you, Maqui," Lebreau was tired of childishness of these two. She was even eager to drown them in the sea which was noticable behind the kitchen window, but she came to conclusion that even sea wouldn't accept that 'sacrifice.' "You should find yourselves girlfriends: you'd mature, then."

Serah hurriedly was eating the breakfast and run off from the kitchen surprising everyone. She rushed towards the pier on which she sat down. She began to cry. After a while a black cat with violet spots on itself came to her and started to fawn. The sadness disappeared from Serah's face in a near instant. Suddenly the strange cat ripped the necklace from girl's neck and run off with it to the north. The animal neatly jumped over the obstacle which was separating the residential area from the 'wild' area which was called that because of different kinds of monsters were living there.

"Come back here, you worthless scabbers!" Serah shouted at the cat, but it was still running ahead jumping from rock to rock as some terrains were cut off from the normal means of transport by the water.

After a few moments, Serah got to a small plateau surrounded by tall, flat walls made of solid rock. She was standing on completely flat terrain: there was not even a single blade of grass for a fly to hide from a burning sun, but the cat wasn't there. Not loosing any hope, she began intensive search of the rock walls looking for a place where the annoying cat would left her necklace. Suddenly, she heard cat's groan and the wall before her turned into dust and she noticed the thief within the cave and she continued her pursuit.

As the cave was darker then rainy sky and tunnels were narrow and spiral like her own curls in her ponytail, Serah was moving cautiously as she thought that she won't have any use of the necklace as a dead. From time to time the cat was showing itself from an alley or was meowing till the girl was not close enough to it.

"You little, uneducated, spoiled tomcat!" Serah was making small pauses between each word.

Then cat sitted down at her legs. When the girl bended to take back her property, the cat exploded emitting crystal blue rays causing Serah to hide her eyes as to not get blind from the light they suffered. When she got her hands on the necklace a chamber and variously-shaped crystals formed around her. Everything was in salmon pink colour. In the middle of the chamber a pale light shined and crystal in shape of two pyramids connected at the base in a colour of salmon pink appeared. From innate feminine curiosity approached she approached the crystal and it exploded with a pink light. A strange creature appeared before the girl: it had white, fluffy belly from which funny limbs were growing out and had head bigger from the rest of the body, also in white colour with big nose in salmon pink colour, oblique eyes, tiny ears and long antenna with crystal from which possibly the creature was born and additionally purple, bat wings were growing on his back.

"Kupokupo!" crature happily said.

"_What is that?_" Serah thought and started to slowly leave the cave.

"Kupo?" the creature noticed the leaving girl.  
"What!?" Serah suddenly shouted when from a mist appeared the creature she wanted to left. "Wh-what do you want?" the girl was terrified.  
"I'm Mog, kupo!" the creature shouted happily.  
"You speak!?" girl was so shocked that she felt on the ground.  
"Yes-yes, kupo!"  
"Wh-what are you?"  
"A moogle, kupo! The only one in a kind, kupo!"  
"A MOOGLE!?"Serah's shock was raising with every minute. "But they only exist in fairy tales!"  
"Stupidity, kupo!" moogle irritated.  
"S-speak what you want from me or I leave."  
"Your sister sends me, kupo."  
"You know Claire!?"  
"I don't know any 'Claire,' kupo, but I do know 'Lightning' for sure, kupo."  
"Tell me! Tell me where she is?" Serah shouted at Mog.  
"She's in Valhalla, she protects the goddess, kupo."  
"Valhalla? Goddess? What do you mean?"  
"Oh, they don't mention it in fairy tales, kupo?" Mog jested. "Valhalla is the land of the dead which parallels with this world, kupo. One can say its like Cocoon here, but it's located in the Invisible World, kupo. The goddess, Etro, is the ruler of death who rules over that land, kupo."  
"Why does Lightning protect the goddess of death even though she's dead?" ashed Serah.  
"The goddess Etro is not dead like those who carry the chaos may see, kupo. She lives by death, kupo," Mog said in argumentative tone.  
"That's...horrible..." the girl whispered.  
"Actually not, kupo. However, for those who carry the chaos it may seem horrible, kupo. The goddess's existence is threatened by a man, but Lightning didn't tell me much about him, kupo."  
"And this _goddess_ can't protect _herself_?" Serah scoffed.  
"No-no, kupo. Power of the Goddess is limited only to getting spirits of the dead to the Invisible World, kupo."  
"If so, why does she need Lightning? She has palette full of corpses!" anger appeared on girl's face.  
"These 'corpses' are not suitable for fight, they only rest, kupo. The goddess disconnected her existence from the Visible World causing her 'death,' kupo."  
"And Lightning protects that wanna-be-goddess?"  
"Yes-yes, kupo!" the moogle thought that Serah started to understand his story.  
"Nice fairy tale, Mog," Serah acquitted.  
"Y-you won't believe me, kupo?" Mog started to cry. "_A MOOGLING_!?"  
"Thanks, but no thanks," and the girl left.

However she didn't even make a single step, and strange beetles emanating with blue light appeared.

"Fight with this, kupo!" shouted Mog who appeared above Serah and turned into a sword. It was a classical example of sword, but in its stem a crystal was placed.  
"I wasn't born to fight!" girl shouted and started to attack the monsters.

Serah waved awkardly the sword a few times only provoking the creatures, but when she get the good grasp of the hilt with both her hands she started to wildly attack. She performed a few thrusts which defeated the bigger creature, but there were several miniatures which performed more elegant moves making it hard for Serah to hit them.

"Draw your hand in front of the foe and say _Ruin_, kupo!" she heard Mog's voice.

Serah timidly drew her right hand to the closest beetle and said _Ruin_. A small white sphere emanating with faint silver light emerged from her hand and flew to the beetle.

"Oh my!" Serah was in shock.

After casting few _Ruins_all monsters got defeated and the sword turned back into Mog.

"Th-thanks, Mog," Serah stammered out.  
"Lightning sent me for at least this, kupo!" Mog was glad hearing joy from girl's lips.  
"So I am to join her?" she asked hesitantly.  
"Lightning said she won't handle it alone, kupo. She also said that only you have the 'key', kupo."  
"A 'key'? What are you talking about?" in the voice of worried Serah curiosity could be heard.  
"I don't know, kupo. After she told me about that 'key' she pushed me into some kind of gate and I find myself here, kupo."  
"So what now?" Serah worried.  
"First let's go to you place, kupo. We'll think of something there, kupo. I'll lead you out from this cave, but follow me, kupo. Remember that more of these monsters can appear, kupo," Mog wasn't sparing the words.  
"Okay, thank you," Serah smiled.  
"Kupopopopopopopopopo!" moogle got happy and they left.

When they left the cave, Serah noticed it was an evening already. She said that Gadot and the others must be worried sick about her what caused Mog to asks her about them to which she replied she would introduce them to him.

Just when she jumped over the obstacle separating the village from the wild area, Gadot was already waiting at the gate.

"You were gone for a quite long time, princess," he scoffed.  
"Oh, come on!" Serah miffed. "Where are the others?" she asked.  
"Seraaah!" two men were running from the beach and a woman behind them.  
"We thought that those nasty Pulse armaments got you," said the blond man.  
"And that they sacrificed you to their idol," added man with feathery hair.  
"What is that eyesore?" said woman who just came pointing at the moogle.  
"Me an _EYESORE_, kupo!?" the creature was irritated. "I'm Mog, the moogle, kupo!" it happily said.  
"Moo-gle?" Yuj was shocked.  
"Yes! Kupo!" replied happily Serah. "This is Gadot," girl pointed at the man with fiery hair, "he can be cocky at times, but he's a guy with good heart..."  
"Hey...!"  
"Maqui and Yuj are like two brothers, inseparable and mischievious," the men blushed. "And that's Lebreau, she's like a 'sister' in place of Lightning."

Then Serah and Mog told them about everything that happened in the bar-and-house complex.

"And _you_ want to go!? With this furry!?" protested Gadot. "I won't let you go alone, but I also won't go with you. That three won't go, either."  
"Don't you understand, Gadot, that I can find and help my Sister by only this way?"  
"Serah is twenty-one so she can do whatever she wants," coldly said Lebreau.  
"I promised him that she won't get hurt, so I won't let her go from this town, even if it was the last thing I should do!"  
"Kupo..." Mog worried.  
"You promised? You more of a took the role of the 'daddy,' really," said Maqui.  
"Your beak will end in the table!" snarled Gadot.  
"He's right," said Lebreau. "You became 'daddy,' nilly-willy."  
"So?" asked Yuj.

Someone then entered the bar.

"Closed, for goodness's sake!" Gadot yelled.  
"Don't tell me you won't treat me with somethin'!" the voice was laughing and strangely familar.

To the kitchen where NORA members were sitting with Serah and Mog, a man with arm-long silver hair, patterned shorts, white shirt on straps and sandals came. He wore dark blue sunglasses on his nose.

"Yo! What's up? You haven't forgot 'bout me, have you?" it was Hope.

The last time Serah met Hope was more than a year now, when they went to Serendipity in search for some entertainment. Now, Hope was different than then: happy and with his spirits up high.

"Wh-what you're doing here?" she asked.  
"I came here with my father few days ago for some relax and I thought of dropping by. And who's this jolly guy?" he pointed at Mog.  
"'Jolly guy,' kupo?" moogle was surprised by that and in an instant rushed to Hope and began to hug him.  
"And fondling!" Hope giggled and the rest followed excluding Gadot.  
"This is Mog, a moogle," Serah said and started to patiently explain him what has recently happened in her life.

"I can go with Serah," Hope offered himself. "Either way, holidays are coming."  
"What about your father? Won't he get mad?" asked angrily Gadot.  
"Three years ago I decided to fight with adversities of being a l'Cie and fought alongside Lightning for truth. Now if I can help her sister in her finding, so why not?"  
"This search can last days, months, years, kupo," Mog said slowly.  
"Nevermind that."  
"That's the spirit!" Maqui got excited.  
"The spirit of destruction," scoffed Gadot.  
"Hey, pal, chill out. Serah is in good hands, 'daddy,'" snorted Yuj.  
"'_Daddy_'?" said Hope. "That's the good one! We'll go in the morning, alright?" suggested Hope. "I must tell father about my plans."  
"Alright!" Serah wasn't so happy for a long time. Last time she felt such happiness was more than a year now, since...  
"Okay, everyone, dismiss!" ordered Lebreau.

Hope went to his camp, while Gadot, Maqui, Yuj, and Lebreau left to their rooms.

"Where will I sleep, kupo?" Mog worried.  
"I have a free bed, you can sleep there," Serah said and added "kupo."  
"Thank you, kupo!"

_Lightning, so you are still alive? And Mog will help in the search? And...what is that 'key'? I hope that when we'll meet, you'll answer me for this questions._

_I miss you. Sister._


	3. Episode Two: Lights and Shadows

**Episode Two**

**Lights and Shadows**

Serah was quickly eating her breakfast wanting to start her journey with Hope as soon as she could.

„Slow down! You're racing or what!?"

Gadot was quite unsatisfied with the fact that Serah leaves New Bodhum in search for Lightning which was accepted to be dead just after the year of her loss. Lebreau was trying to calm him down by saying the Serah is an adult and that she'll make it. But this wasn't enough for him.

„Take these potions with you for recovering your health and removing harmful status effects!" Maqui gave Serah several colourful phials.

„It won't be that bad, will it, Mog?" Serah was so happy that morning. She wasn't so happy in so long...

„Yep-yep, kupo! No baubles, kupo! Having me you don't need these wretched potions, kupo!"

„Yeah? And what a moogle like you can do?" irate Maqui muttered.

„You don't believe in moogle magic, kupo!?" Mof iritated more than the blond man. „I'll show you, kupo!"

Hope have just came into the kitchen; he was dressed differently than the evening before: he was wearing a blue blouse with light green shirt on it, grey trousers, and sport shoes, and in his hand he was wielding his old boomerang, the Airwing.

„And you too, kupo!" Mog resolutely shouted causing confusion in Hope.

Mog conjured a wand crowned with a clock divided into thirteen equal parts with a crystal on its top. Moogle started to swirl intesively and pink swirls started to cover Serah until she was completely covered. After a moment the whisps disappeared and the new Serah appeared: she was wearing a black sleeveless with five pairs of silver buttons, which was reaching up till her navel, and it parted in two in the back reaching her knees. Nearly entire neck was covered by high, black collar which grew from the sleeveless and golden armlets where adorning her shoulders. On her left arm she was wearing a brown sleeve which was reaching her armpit, while on her right arm she wore a bit shorter, black sleeve which was reaching a bit further than her elbow and on which a blue shield with golden borders is placed. On her hands she had dark blue, fingerless gloves with golden knuckles and silver strap near her wrists. She was wearing jeans shorts and above her right knee a pink pouch was placed. The whole outfit was completed with dark brown boots with dragon adornments which were reaching up till her knees.

„W...wow..." Yuj, Maqui, and Hope marveled.

„Pretty outfit won't protect Serah from monsters," Gadot said.

„No moogle fears, kupo! Here it comes, kupo!"

Weak lights shone above Serah and Hope's heads and fall onto their hands. Th lights then turned into crystals: Serah had a sky blue tear, and Hope a green star.

„These are..." the boy started.

„Crystals are presents from Lightning, kupo. And than outfit is from me, kupo," Mog was very fiery.

„Thank you," Serah said. „But...crystals?"

„Lightning said that the journey will be long and dangerous, kupo."  
„Better let's go. We loose time with every minute," Hope proposed.

Serah, Mog, and Hope left and went to the south where the newly built road was leading to the Archylte Steppe. Suddenly, Gadot appeared in front of the entrance to the road. He firmly grabbed the man by his blouse raising him and said:

„Keep an eye on her, 'cause if something happens to her...", man's voice froze in his throat.

„She's under good care, kupo," Mog knit his brows.

Gadot left.

„He's _always_ so overprotective of you?" Hope asked.

„Yes."

While they were walking across the asphalt road, Mog was causing a little sensation making Serah and Hope stopping every now and then as curious passerbys would look at the inflated creature and raise songs of praise. Wen they were descending a winding road they noticed a girl entangled within the bushes and Hope approached her offering his help.

„Hey! Everything's alright?"

„Do I look like I'm alright!?" the girl irritated at him.

Petty, short-haired blonde girl was standing on the road in shredded, yellow blouse and black mini, and her black heels were covered in thick layer of mud. She had also scratches on her face, arms, and legs.

„Someone attacked you?" the girl was shocked with the appearance of Serah behind Hope's back.

„Y-yeah! From one of the peaks a behemoth jumped off and attacked me! My gun was kinda useless..."

„Where is it now?" Hope asked.

„I saw it running to the Steppe...Now there's...my little sister!" and the blond girl run off down the road.

„Let's go!" Hope took Serah by her arm and they run to the Steppe.

„What about me, kupo!?" Mog irritated.

When they arrived at the Steppe they noticed in a distance the girl shooting at the millenium-aged oak-sized behemoth. Hope immediately run to her throwing his boomerang at the monster concetrating its attacks on himself.

„Hope!" Serah caught Mog who automatically transformed into a bow. „What the—!?"

Behemoth was slightly disoriented, but quickly got together and continued to attack the blonde girl.

„_Curasa_!" Hope shouted standing in front of the girl defending her from a deadly attack. Hope was thrown back, but quickly got up.

Serah started to rapidly shoot from her bow gicing Hope and the girl time to rest for a bit. Then Hope started to cast various elemental spells he knew, but the behemoth was giving up so easily, and the newly met girl started to enhance them with defensive statuses. Suddenly the beast charged at Serah and launched her into the air.

„Serah! No!" Hope shouted.

„No worries!" the girl winked while looking at the boy showing her thumb raised up. A blue sphere crated arounf the girl, and the girl jumped high into the air.

The girl caught Serah and healed her/. Then she whispered her somethininto the ear. Serah started to shoot the arrows like crazy, and the girl was shooting bullets at random. Hope threw his booomerang stright into the beast's eyes. Disoriented behemoth got hit into its eyes and started to stagger on the ground. The girl was still shooting, and Serah changed her bow into a sword which she pointed at the ground with her blade, fallign herself head to ground. Suddenly, the blade pierced the beast's heart and the black mist consumed it.

„You're alright, Sarisa?" the girl asked a little light-haired girl with green eyes.

„Th-thanks," the little girl muttered.

„You shouldn't cross the Steppe so care-free with so man behemoths around," Serah scolded the two girls.

„T-that's my fault...", the little girl started to cry more and more. „My sister told me not to leave Academia, because various monsters are outside of it, but a cute butterfly..."

„Sarisa, don't cry," the girl asked her sister. „I advise you to not attack me or Sarisa so violently!" the shorted-haired blonde girl casted an angry look at Serah. „Like you haven'y your own problems."

„Kupokupo, peace, kupo!" Mog twittered.

The little girl suddenly stopped to cry and looked at the Mog like at some kind of a deity. She approached him and wanted to catch him, but he only batering with her friendly.

„What's that strange creature?" she asked.

„Mog, the Moogle, at your service, kupo!"  
„Thanks Mog for the intervention, but it was cool looking how two pancakes argue!"

„Pancakes!?" Serah and the blonde girl got mad and punced themselves at Hope.

„H-hey! H-help!"

„Breathe, Hope, breathe, 'cause Mog is here!" and Mog started to attack the girls with his wand, but the blonde girl quickly took it grom him and stunned the moogle.

Suddenly, a dark-skinned man came running on a chocobo from the west: he had large afro, olive coat, khaki trousers, and black boots. When he noticed the group of fighting people and a girl next to them he run to them and shouted in amaze:

„Serah!? Hope!?"

The fight immediately finished: Serah and the girl got up from Hope and started to apologetically fix themselves, Hope was lying like a log, and Mog was swirling, kumping and falling on th =e ground every now and then.

„What in chocobo blazes this means!?" he roared.

„Because, Mr. Director...", the blonde girl started, but Serah interrupted her:

„'_Director_'!? 'Director' of what!?"

„Things happened..." he muttered. „I'm one of the most important persons within the Academy."

„And do I know you?" she asked.

„Hey! What about me!?" the blonde girl reminded of her existence.

„Calm down, Miss Zaidelle. There will be time for everything. Don;t you remember me, Serah?"

„S-Sazh?" a sound of uncertainty could be heared in Serah's voice.

„You know them, sir!?" 'Miss Zaidelle' was shocked.

„Of course! This is Serah Farron, and that boy is Hope Estheim: I fought alongside him against the Cocoon fal'Cie rule to ave humanity and that sweet girl. And him, or rather 'them,' what did you do?"

„Well..." the blonde girl snorted. „Just a bauble."

„Al~right..."

„Aye! I forgot to introduce you to Mog!" Serah suddenly said that and grabbed the „plushie" from the floor, hugged him firmly and started to talk about her journey to Sazh.

_You won't goess what happened, Lightning. I met Sazh with Mog and Hope. I told him that our three went on a journey in search of you nd that you fight with someone and you look for a 'key'. Sazh also told me what he was doing all that time when we didn't see each other in so long: he works in the Academy as a director—just one of the most important persons in the Academy, he is responsible of the scientific district of the newly found city of Academia, and that he conducts research of the new technologies so people won't have to rely on the fal'Cie. And that he works on a solution of how to release Vanielle and Fang from the crystal pillar._

„Maybe you need help, no? The Academy will surely help in the saerch for Lightning; after all she fought against these crystal machina."

„We could try, what do you think, Hope?" Serah turned to the boy who was sitting i shrunken position on the ground and was drawing various patterns on the ground with his finger.

„C-could..." he replied, still frigthened with Serah's wildness.

„Oh Hope! Don't make scenes!" Serah miffed. „On the scale of manliness you have miserable D-."

„You won't tell me what happened, hmm?" Sazh was curious about the situattion in which he met them.

„Oh Mr. Director, some silly schemes and that's all", Miss Zaidelle giggled.

„'Silly schemes'?"

„Yes, Mr. Director, nothing special!"

Sazh scowled the girls and invitied the group to the Academy. Serah picked Hope up and pushed him in the direction of Academia, while the blonde girl grabbed Sarisa by her hand. Passing across a chocobo farm, Sazh entered a cabin and left. A moment later a group of employees came with chocobos and Sazh said that they will ride on chocoboc, because it's faster and safer.

Few minutes later they were standing in front of high, metal wall which was shining with emerald light. The gate opened automatically, and Serah, Mog, and Hope saw soaring buildings, and airships in varying sizes which the citizens used to travels across the city were flying on different heights. Mog flew to a console which suddenly started to talk with female, eleectronic voice:

„Welcome in the city of Academia! You are currently in the commenrcial district, Esthar. What would you like to do?"

„Kupo!? What's this, kupokupo!?" Mog was scared: it was his very first time seeing something like this.

„Teddy, you haven't seen an interactive panel?" Sazh asked the moogle.

„I am Mog the moogle, and not some kind of 'teddy', kupo!" Mog irritated.

Alright, alright, there's no need to flaunt so much, for the sake of chocobos."

„This place is...incredible", Serah said.

It was her very first time outside of New Bodhum; she didn't really leave New Bodhum since the Catastrophe. „_I want to let people know why Cocoon fell, why it is held by a solid crystal pillar,_" this was her explanation for staying in New Bodhum. The city's architecture charmed her as most of the building were great skyscrappers with lots of ads being showed on the glass, from time to time were long alleyways surrounded by parks and wooden buildings highly contrasting the dominating modern looks of the city.

„I must take Sarisa home", the blonde girl quickly said and took her sister by her arm and went west, to the residential district.

„Two pancakes less" Hope said silently under his nose.

„Kupokupo!" Mog echoed him. „We have now even odds, kupopo!"

„You're planning something?" the pink-haired girl asked the boy and the moogle.

„This teddy bear have something", Hope said and faintly smiled.

„ Kupopopopopopopo!" 'teddy bear' got angry, „I'll show you a 'teddy bear', you palehead, kupo!"

„Hey kids! Calm down!" Sazh activated suddenly. „Your behaviour doesn't show any signs that you're looking for Lightning", and after a longer moment of thinking he added, „or that you're close to each to other."

„Sorry!" Serah said. „But these two..."

„Enought is enough, time for us." Sazh said and went straight in front of him, and Hope and Serah huggling Mog followed him.

_H__ey, Lightning. We're going to the Academy to make finding you easier. I hope that our efforts won't go towaste and we'll be together; we'll be happy and nothing will disturb our happiness. But deep in my heart I can feel that the road will be long and dangerous, but I tell myself that with every event I'm one step closer to you. And now...To the Academy!_

_Serah, there were are you, you have a lot of time, while I fight the same battles over and over again, and his face is always the same: cold and breathing disdain for human kind. No matter how many battles I fight him, I do not know why I am doing this. But he always talks about 'her', whoever she is._

„No matter how many times you'll defeat me, I'll always win!" a tall, slender man wearing a purple, tribal armour with purple hair and eyes as red as blood said to Lightning. „No matter how many times you'll find 'him', you won't save him."

„I'm fighting for my friends, and you?"

„The reason I fight for, or rather what I defend, is not for you to know, minion of Etro!"

The man suddenly summoned his grand pueple sword, teleported behind Lightning and deftly waved it, but the woman quickly reacted and defended herself. Next, a quick exchange of sword slashes followed after which both sides started to cast various magic spells, including the gravity ones as well.

„Whatever you would do, history will repeat itself and all your effort will go to waste!"

„Not only good in the fight, but better in the mug, hmm?" the woman scoffed.

„Talk well, but neither of us will live to see tomorrow!"

The man quickly grabbed Lightning by her arm, launched her into the air, and created a timespace folding sphere causing the woman to hang in the air and not being able to move at all. The man jumped into the air and hanged next to Lightning. He touched her forehead with his lips and said:

„There was so much before you, but you left your past, to protect the future. Bemused by a fairy tale about saving the dreaming 'daughters' you fight for nothing. Abandon your hopes, abandon your soulm and return to the present!" and he suddenly hit her stomach so hard that she hit the ground creating a large crater under her. She got up after a moment and deeply breathing said:

„Your...words...are...nothing...in com...parison...with...ruin...to which...you want to... lead... this world..."

„It is not the ruins I lead this world, but a new world in which _she_ won't suffer from the crystal sacrifice."

„What're...you...talkin about?"

„Not your life, not your story, not your right to interfere with the essense of being."

„After all, you...dont't know...what life is..." and she fainted.

Several years old pink-haired girl wearing a pink dress was sitting in a sandpit, while on a nearby bench a woman was sitting and next to her a stroller standed in which a little baby was sweetly dreaming. Few moments later, a small boy with auburn hair, dark blue hair, wearing yellow shirt with two black straps, jeans, and sneakers approached the sandpit and started to poke the sand.

„Why are you doing this?" the girl asked.

„'Cause I do, how's that? I can't?" the boy irritated.

„Would you play with me?"

„I gre up from making sand castles, and you're also a girl," and he left, and the girl returned to play in the sand.

Suddenly, a telephone started to rang in the women's handbag. She answered the phone.

„Mrs. Farron, I pressume? This is officer Cause from Bodhum Security Regiment."

„Where did you get my number, sir?"

„From the telephone of your husband, I pressume."

„H-have something happened to him?"

„Sadly yes: he was killed in an assassination."

„A-assassination?"

„I'm very sorry, but I can't give you more information. I'd like to request to come to the hospital mortuary in order to fill the papers. My sincerest condolences. Good bye."

„G-good bye." she replied and a tear fell from her eye which the girl noticed.

„Have something happened, mommy?"

„N-no, nothing..."

A dark glow enshrouded everything.

_Father, why had you left so early?_

A fifteen-year-old girl was sitting next to a hospital bed on which a woman was lying. Back in her time, she wa a very attractive and groomed hostess, but after her husband's death her will to life started to die out. Despite having brother-in-law and her mother to help her with the children, she couldn't live with the thought that her husband is in another world. The fifteen-year-old girl was caring for her mother and the near end of her life as no-one wanted to do that.

„Daughter, thank you...for everything", the woman silently said.

„Don't say that...It's not over yet."  
„I can feel how my soul leaves my body...goes to the light..."

„It's only the beginning. There's so much ahead of us."  
„You'll take care of your younger sister, won't you?"

„But _you_ are our mom."

„It's time to tell you how your the father really died, and I don't suppose that grandparents, or the aunt and the uncle would ever tell you this. Father died in a assasination, and not how I was telling you was hit by a drnken driver."

„An assassionation? But who—"

„I don't know. There were little news about that in the TV, only that liberals blew up the city centre building in which he was doing some shopping, like the rest five hundred people. It was said that they wanted to make themselves more notifying and that the Sanctum didn't allow to leave Cocoon and visit Pulse, but how many truth is in it...I don't know."

„What about police?"

„They didn't even gave a statement..." the woman heavily caughed and the machinery started to go crazy.

„DOCTOR! DOCTOR!" the girl started to shout, but when a doctor came it was too late.

„I'm very sorry, Miss Farron, but your mother died a moment ago. Do—„

„Yes," tears were falling from her chins, „ p-please l-leave me...I w-want to say goodbye..."

„But of course," and he left.

„M-mom, I'll t-take care of Serah and do e-everything, to m-make you proud of me...V-very proud...I-I'll protect her..." the girl shortly fell asleep not noticing that through her tears.

When the girl arrived at home, she went to her sister's room in which she was doing her homework.

„Hi!" the girl happily said. She was quite a happy child which made her many friends.

„Theres something I need to tell you" the girl's voice become official and grim: „Mom is gone."

„But where?" the younger girl's face filled with sadness.

„To where nothing imperils her, where she's together with dad."  
„Mommy!" the girl shouted and started to cry. After a while she asked: „But what about us? We have no parents..."

„Don't worry. As far as I know I'm a person in a „suitable age", so the law allows me to take care of the home and you.

„And what if—"

„No-one will separate us, Serah. Yet if someone tries, he'll remember me."

„C—"

„It's not my name now."

„Why, sister?"

„Call me 'Lightning'."

„'Lightning'? Why so strange nickname?"

„Lightning is a powerful phenomenon which emits light. Its shine reminds a mythical shield separating earth from the sky."

_Now that I think of my 'nickname,' I wonder why 'Lightning,' exactly and not something else, like 'Squall.' Maybe because that our mother had the pink hair shining with lightning gleam? I was looking for our parents here as well, Serah, but I cannot find them. Maybe there is some kind of division? Something that makes Valhalla a stop, a judgment place where Etro decides who will pass to the blessed side, and who to the damned one? I only saw Etro once, when she summoned me. I haven't the chance to ask her about our parents, for which I'm sorry, Serah._

_But now fight and search for the stain after Pulse, because only with that person we will be together, we'll free Vanille and Fang from their crystal sleep, and defeat 'him'. So go and don't come back, as what will happen, will not unhappen 'there'._


	4. Episode Three: Tribes and Legends

**Episode Three**

**Tribes and Legends**

Walking along the long alleyways towards the building where the Academy had its headquarters, the look of laughing children next to their smiling parents caused Serah to be happy: she haven't seen such a great happiness from people despite the fact that people at New Bodhum were also happy. At the entrance to the Academy headquarters, a brown-haired girl appeared and approached Hope holding a green carbuncle.

„I-it's you..." she whispered. „Th-thank you for that...when..."

„What are you talking about, little miss?" Hope asked her.

„Back then in Palumpolum...three years ago...You gave me back my plushie."

„Ku_**POOOOO**_! I'm not a _**PLUSHIE**_, kupo!" Mog screeched and the little girl hid behind Sazh.

„Mog, you can't interupt while someone is talking, it's uncultured," Serah instructed him.

„Wh-what is this 's-something'?" the girl hesitantly asked seeing a giant wand in the shape of a clock in moogle's hand.

„I am Mog, the moogle and I demand esteen. KUPO."

„He's also allergic to 'plushies', 'mascots', and such..." Hope started to count.

„These are the worst: you want it or no, it will grease you like flan with its slime", Serah added.

„KUPO!"

Willy-nilly, we have to meet with the Council of Academy," Sazh interfered and rushed Serah, Mog, and Noel to the tower. The girl wass looking at Hope while he was entering the building with a great door in shape of a pentagon.

The building's interior passed all expectations: interactive panels which changed their colour depending on their text gave current informations about locales, people, and the news; water fans were cooling off employees and guests with tiny specks of water on this hot day. Impressive chestnuts were sprayed by water from time to time were growing on half-open fields surrounded with half-circular counters with helpful Academy employees, and all that was seasoned with the music from the Academy radio „Eden".

„Wooow", Serah couldn't believe how sheltered life she led in the peaceful New Bodhum, while the Academia had such technological solutions an a daily routine.

„It's definetely better here than in Palumpolum," Hope said with argumentative tone.

„As you can see the Academy is intensively working under new technologies. I never thought I would say it, but it's better than during the fal'Cie rule." Sazh was talking, and his guests were listening to him. „'Bout year after founding of the Academy and Academia I was found by Rygdea in Sulyyaville and he asked me, if I wanted to help newly-found Academy in advancing without inclusion of fal'Cie. I said that I wanted to finally take care of my son, and then he asked me if I don't care 'bout Fang and Vanille which was pretty good argument as he broke that old man, heheh. Vanille do had her flaws, but we're all people, right? And Fang was very protective of her, I excellently understand her...And that's I found myself here with Dajh and Chocolina", the dark-skinned man finished his part of the story.

„Where's Dajh by the way?" Serah asked.

„It's Tuesday, thirteen on the clock, so I think at school," Sazh wondered.

„Aye! My, my." Serah marveled. „I'm pretty good teacher...No wonder..."

„Oh, no worries," Hope was comforting her.

„You can always count on my INNATE intelligence, kupo!" Mog happily threw in.

„Oh, thank you, Mog!" the girl scoffed.

„Let's go the the lift, the Council is on the thirteenth floor", Sazh said and then he turned to a man: „Mr. Patcher, please inform the Council of Academy about my arrival, and that I come with guests."

„And Mog, kupo!" moogle added, and Patched looked with frightened eyes at the Mog.

When they entered a circuar lift, Sazh „tapped out" „Thirteenth Floor" on the panel, and the lift run. His guests were surprised that while riding the lift aside of views of Academia and the Archylte Steppe, also current news were shown: one of these was a recent attack of a behemoth on Sarisa Zaidelle. When the lift stopped, the left it, and Sazh started to lead the way across a mysteriously modest corridor.

„We decided that the Academy won't make for „a catwalk fashion" wherever one would bumped his nose, as we're educational-and-technological and not an amusement park."

„And those downstairs? Isn't that 'the catwalk fashion'?" said Hope scornfully.

„Most of citizens and guests come here looking for information, and I haven't really seen women with noticable busts."

„Kupo-pity...", Mog worried.

„Ee...Mog?", Serah was a bit frightened.

„Oh! These are the doors to the Academy's authority," Sazh suddenly stopped before simple, oak door which astonished the guests. „Once again...To not make people became total sloths in this very technologically advanced world, the Academy permitted itself to put some wooden door in order to remind that Mother Nature still makes wonderful things."

Sazh knocked and entered, and Serah, Mog, and Hope followed him. They found themselves ina rectangular room with high, green ceiling, having panels, and olive walls. Identical lockers with transaprent, glass door stool against the walls, and blueprints of different machines and smaller machines itself were hanging on the walls. At the desk which was opposite of the great window three people were sitting: two men and a woman. The man in long, red hair and wearing glasses was the first to talk.

„Good day, we welcome you in the humble abode of the Academy."  
„Otterly, we can do _without_ fuss," said bald man with slight beard.

„Oh, Jonnie, you know how Lorand loves to be nice and kind, don't take this _pleasure_ from him," woman joint the conversation.

„Eh...Where should we start?" said Hope.  
„Start from the beginning, ku_po_," Mog hinted.

„And what is that charming creature?" the woman asked.

„Kupo!" Mog was really happy. „Somebody starts to appreciate me, kupo!"

„This Mog, a moogle," Sazh introduced him. „This is Hope Estheim, and she is Serah Farron."

„_This_ Farron?" Lorand couldn't believe what Sazh just said.

„What do you mean?" the girl asked.

„Four years ago along with Lightning Farron were undergoing through training in the Vile Peaks: she didn;t say much about her family, she was mainly concetrating on the mission. If you ask me, she concetrated _too_ much on the mission."

„You know my sister!?" Serah was astonished. „Mog, it might be easier than we fought!" Serah was really happy.

„What will be easier?" asked Jonnie.

„We came to ask the Academy to help us find Lightning." Hope saif in rather official tone.

„Hope, don't act so bourgeois, chill out," Sazh disliked when someone started to act like a political meeting was held and everyone would start to act extremely nice to each other.

„I don't know...We aren't a charity or CSI," Jonnie said roughly.  
Mr. Depth! But I really care to help Miss Farron!" Lorand was upset.

„According to our current data sister of this miss is not here! Nowhere on this world! And something which doesn't exist can't be found!"  
„She lives! I saw her safe and sound after Vanille and Fang saved Cocoon! She smiled to me. She blessed us..."  
„Miss Farron, I'd gladly help, but I really don't know where should we look. If we had some hitch point..." said calmly the woman.

„Do you know anything about 'a key'?" asked Hope who reminded himself about the conversation during which Mog was talking about 'a key'.

„There are a lot of keys," Jonnie coldly replied.

„Lightning was talking about legends of the Farseers, kupo."

„The Farseers? I never heard of something like this", the woman said. „Cutie moogling, do you know anything about the Farseers?"

„You're awesome, lady, ku_PO_!" Mog was so happy that someone isn't making laugh of him. „Yes, I know a bit, kupo. The Farseers are the oldest tribe on Gran Pulse, they were watching over the planet's development, as well they had many legends connected to gods, kupo."

„Would they know something more about the fal'Cie?" Jonnie was interested.

„Their legends still live, but are known only to them, kupo. They are a nomadic tribe living only to watch planet's development, kupo."

„So we have somthing to start then, great," said Sazh.

„But where we could find more about the Farseers?", asked Lorand.  
„On the southern edge of Gran Pulse there's a ruin of a great city, remnant of that civilisation, look there," Hope proposed.

„So? Will we help that young lady looking for her sister?" the woman asked and the men willingly nodded.

„Now we'll start digging holes in the groung and you get some rest", said Jonnie.

„No!", Serah protested. „I am to dream sweetly knowing that Lightning is in danger!? I am to abandon her!? After all she had done for me!?"

„Please calm down, Miss Farron," Lorand tried to appease the situation.

„So what do you suggest, Miss Farron?", the woman asked.

„They'll help you poking in the sand, kupo!", Mog zestfully proposed.

„Don't tell you you won't help us!?", Hope said that with very appealing tone.

„With limbs like this, he can't even scratch his ears, poor thing", Sazh said.

„Great idea, Mog! You'll become 'special' Academy employees. And oh! My name's Scarlet Bucks. This gingerboy od Lorand Otterly, and that kinda fusser", bland man didn't seem to be touched with her words; he was probably used to these sort of words, „is Jonnie Depth."

„Welcome in the team!" Lorand smiled towards Serah.

„Today you'll rest in Academy quarters and we start digging tomorrow", Sazh said.

„Thank you. You don;t know how much does it mean to me..."

About 8 p.m., Serah finished her shower, dried herself up and changed into a pajamas adorned with some horrible moogles, which of course drove Mog angry to the limits of patience.

„What is that, kupo! I ask what are these critter-tripper-fritters on your pajamas, kupo!?"

„Her moogles are just fine, but what I got is inflection on the whole line", Hope said with resigned voice.

„Hope was wearing pink-and-red pajamas with something that was resembling miniflan, but even Serah couldn't tell what weird pajamas they're making at Academia.

„You could use that wand and change the appearance of that ugly thing?", Hope asked Mog with appealing tone.

„Nah, kupo! You look _sweet_ in that pajamas, kupo!"

„You know, Hope, Mog's right, I'd really crunch you and munch you", Serah winked at Hope.

„Who da thunk that sister of the famous Lightning was acting like a 'pokemon'", Hope finished that sentence with a smile on his face.

„A 'pokemon'"? You've got some tits, boy!", Serah caught Mog and threw him at Hope who not only replied with the moogle he also threw some pillows at her as well.

„You wanna war, kupo!?", Mog was floating shakingly over the floor even though he didn't flap his wings.

„Not war but fuuun!", Hope asnwered and then they both continued.

_I never thought that I would get into as much as bad as much as good in a one day: behemoth's attack on Sarisa and her sister, quarrel with her, Mog, and Hope, Hope-saving appearance of Sazh and that rugged conversation with Academy's authority. Well, there was a moment where I could be stuck with searching, but the smart Mog saved me, for which I thank you, Lightning. Who are the Farseers? Will their legends help us in finding you? Either way, if you mentioned them to Mog that you might have something on your mind; I know you too well. I hope that I'll find something in the ruins to the south, maybe that will help me localising you. But for now, hold on and don't give up, I'll be always with you in my thoughts._

_Memories returns like a boomerang: wether I like it or not, I always remember about something that happened long time ago. But there are still hidden memories, and these will help me find strength for this very difficult times, when I fight with a man who was once chosen by Etro as the seeress's guardian. Seeress whose name is Yeul. I know much, but there are still facts that I don't know._

„Why Yeul needs help?" Lightning was standing on a balcony overgrown with ivy overlooking the endless sea filled with dark waters. „And why humanity must be destroyed to save someone? Why, Etro?"

Lightning started to descend the spiral staircase passing by people statues: young and old, men and women, well and sick. They were statues of people who have died and whom Etro haven assigned a place.

„Stepping alone on the sands of time?", behind Lightning girl with long hair wearing skirt made of bearskin so short that it was revealing middle of her stomach along the upper part of her back, shoes made of bearskin who was holding a daisy in her right hand appeared. The girl herself was of crystallic, cornflower colour.

„You're Yeul, right?", Lightning asked hesitantly.

„I am just a shadow, a shadow of an unfulfilled prophecy, a prophecy of many", Yeul had mysterious, even mystic voice, she was speaking softly.

„What do you mean?"  
„Yeul which you are looking for won;t be found here, never."  
„So what does her shadow do here?", Lightning started to feel annoyed slightly.

„Every human being will die someday, so that his 'shadow' is one with the body until the 'Day of Ordeals'. But _she_ is different: even though she lives, her shadow is not with her."

„'Day of Ordeals'? What is that?"

„Long time ago on Gran Pulse, during the time that Cocoon was not gracing the firmament, the term 'Day of Ordeals' was used to describe a human's death, but with the progression of time and development of civilisation this term was lost, but is still on-going. Day of Ordeals happened already in a horrible scene..."

„You mean the moment when I defeated Orphan alongside my friends?"

„Yes, Claire Farron. Etro's Gate opened to let many innocent souls into Valhalla, but then 'shadows' flowed down from that grim world. If not for the sacrifice of the Sisters of Oerba, perhaps the fate of the world would be different.

„Sisters of Oerba"? You must mean Fang and Vanille."

„Yes, these two Sisters. Oerba Dia Vanille finally accepting her Focus helped Oerba Yun Fang in completing her Focus as well."

„But l'Cie's Focus was to destroy Cocoon. Saving it is breaking the Focus", Yeul's words didn't explain much to Lightning.

„When the goddess Etro untimely put the Sisters to the sleep she gave them the ability to choose: destruction or salvation. As Oerba Dia Vanille had very strong need to help, her power gave Oerba Yun Fang a new Focus: saving Cocoon."  
„But Fang wasn't fully the reason to save Cocoon..."  
„Oerba Dia Vanille have heart purer than the spring water and power like this can cause miracles to happen."  
„'Miracles are things we do ourselves.' Vanille was right."  
„But it wasn't Oerba Dia Vanille who freed you from your crystal stasis: your sister done that."

„You mean Serah?"  
„Lindzei's blood flows through her veins."

„Lindzei? But our parents were normal people", Lightning couldn't believe Yeul's words.

„Before Cocoon was created, the goddess Etro relayed us with an information of what is to come: 'When the Day of Ordeals will be nigh, a child from Cocoon and a child from Gran Pulse will be born, and each of them will be branded with the power of the Maker of their world: the woman will gain Lindzei's powers, while the man Pulse's. When their souls will meet, the powers will awaken and the Gate to the Sleeping One will open themselves, releasing him and the Sisters of Oerba. Then a great war will come in which saviours of both worlds will join forces with the Gifted and the freedom of Universe will be lying in their hearts.'"

„Sounds like a...fairy tale. But who's that 'child of Pulse'?"  
„When the time will let it, everything will be known,"

„'When the time will let it...' And what if that won't happen? Then what!?", Lightning started to really angry about the whole conversation. „I promised to protect my sister—"

„You're doing great", Yeul interrupted her. „Meanwhile pray to the goddess, put all the hope in her as she also wishes the world to be free."

„Okay. If you say so...But one thing: why Serah?"

„Divine judgment is uncharted. And no, and do not ask Etro about it: her knowledge in this scope is minimal, no-one is perfect", Yeul shone with bright, cornflower light and disappeared, leaving a daisy behind.

„Fang, Vanille...Hold on some more."

_Yeul. A seeress who lives without a soul—'shadow', yet still exists, but how? This break from battles and meeting with her casted gloom on many things: Fang and Vanille's Focus, Serah's role in my life and world's existence, my own battles in Valhalla. Does it all have sense? Did it have it at all? But I must fight and protect Valhalla and Etro from her chosen one who only wishes for Yeul's freedom without reckoning with anyone or anything. Serah, whatever you do, don't stop believing in life, believe in me as long as one exists __in other people's thoughts he still lives. Don't give up as you are everything I have and the 'key' to the Universe's freedom. Good bye._


	5. Episode Four: Mysteries of Paddra

**Episode Four  
****Mysteries of Paddra**

About 7 a.m., Mog woke up and noticing that Serah and Hope are still sleeping, he decided to do something archmoogling: he'll inhumanly wake them up. The moogle came with an 'intelligent' idea of conjuring some buckets full of water over their heads which he did. At one point the buckets turned over upsode down spilling their content on the sleepy-heads suddenly waking them up.

„What!? A flood!?", Hope quickly jumped of his bead and started to shake his head from the water.  
„On Etro!", Serah shouted. „Whose stupid idea was that!? I was having such a _wonderful_ dream."  
„Kupokupo!", Mog happily twittered. „Those who wake early up, may meet up with Lady Luck, kupo!"  
„You Piggy Kitty!", Hope shouted. „I'll tear those little wings from your back!", Hope threatened Mog."  
„Nah, kupo! I'd woke you up anyway, kupo!"  
„I was having such a _wonderful_ dream", Serah repeated with dreamy voice intensively drying her hair in the towel ornamented with Cait Siths. „I was dreaming that I am together with Lightning and my Hero back at the New Bodhum. We were living like a big, _happy_ family. Without worries, sorrows, with Fang and Vanille...And _YOU_ destroyed everything!", Serah threw herself at the poor little being."  
„Ku_pooo_!", Mog squeaked and started to chatically move around the room avoiding thunderbolts casted by Serah.  
„Serah, you should know the best that you can't live in a world of illusions", said Hope. „If you start believing in something that doesn't exist, you might get lost and never found yourself."  
„You're right", Serah replied, took her clothes, went to the bathroom in order to get changed.

Hope put on himself his grey trousers, blue blouse, put his light green shirt and threw himself at the bed.

„Ku_pooo_!", the moogle frustrated. „You forgot about something, kupo!"  
„Yeah? What?"  
„You're going to gdig some holes in the ground, kupo!"  
„Oh!? So you're not coming with us?"  
„No-no, kupo. I must rest, because I'm very busy, kupo!"  
„And what if something happens to Serah? Lightning won't be happy. She'll say that she sent a bad moogle. A moogle who doesn't carry the tasks he was given", Mog's face began to thin. „Other moogles will be sad, if they exit at all...", Hope continued.  
„Moogles _do_ exist, kupo!", Mog frustrated. „There are more of us than you can count, kupo! But you're right, kupo...", the being saddened. „Lightning will be bad on me, if I'll fail her, kupo."  
„So it's settled!", Hope shouted happily just when Serah was leaving the bathroom, still having wet hair.  
„Kupo", said Mog with apologetic tone.  
„Oh, now don't cry. Come to me", Serah firmly hugged Mog and the being started to wriggle a little.

Then someone knocked to the door.

„Miss Farron, Mr. Estheim, Mr. Mog?", it was Scarlet's voice.  
„Kupo!", shouted happily Mog, „We're as frsh as Kupo Nuts!"  
„I'd really like you to come down on the breakfast: one can't start excavations with an empty stomach, you see."  
„O-of course, Mrs. Bucks", Serah replied and she left the room with Hope and Mog and followed Scarlet to the dinning room.

Sazh, Jonnie, and Lorand were already in the dinning room, lively discussing about possible discoveries in the ruins of Yaschas Massif. But Lorand's ideas seemed to be not of Gran Pulse.

„I think that we might find some lost civilisations deep in the ruins who will guard a powerful, ancient spell! Or we will wake up an ancient fiend! Or—"  
„Man, how old are you to think such _**nonsense**_!? Or I ask in a different way: what do you read?", Jonnie started to loose hope in any kind of discovery even before they went there.  
„A twenty-year-old man reading _Mythology of the Two Worlds_ is not a bad thing, I think", Lorand thought.  
„Well, it's good that an Academy employee is interested in mythology, but _Mythology of the Two Worlds_ was written by Yvonne Wickedy and she writes books for _kids_", Sazh intefered. „I don't think that a fabulist would write _authetic_ things."  
„Aw come on! Her books are _brilliant_!"  
„Good morning!", Serah mildly notified the three of her presence.  
„Ah, hello, Serah. You slept well? Was it too cold?", Sazh was worried about Serah.  
„Oh yeah!", Hope interfered. „It was warm until Mog haven't woke us up with a cold shower!"  
„You would overslept without me, kupo!", Mog defended himself.  
„Mr. Mog, I would wake you up", Scarlet was trying to defend the moogle.  
„That's better", Hope breathed a sigh of relief and seductively winked at Scarlet, which she reciprocated with a blushing smile.

After finishing the breakfast during which they ate sandwiches, scrambled eggs and some tea, the group went to the aerodrome where they boarded an airship which resembled a ladybug, but had sea blue colour and hadn't had any spots. At the entrance to the airship, the group went to the passenger part where everyone aside of Mog took a seat: that little fellow insisted on that he'll fly around the room.

„Mr. Mog, Academy airships are very fast and travelling 'on the loose' may harm you."  
„Call me 'Mog', kupo!", Mog twittered. „But not close to that terrible two, kupo", Mog pointed thoughful Serah and Hope was talking about something with Lorand.  
„So I'll hold you. Mog", Scarlet said. „You can call me 'Scarlet'."  
„Kupo!"  
„Please fasten your belts as we will depart shortly!", Sazh's voice came out from the speaker.

At one point the airship took off from the plate of the aerodrome and went to the south. Lorand turned his face to the window and started to admire Academia and the Archylte Steppe, annoying Hope who was talking with him just few moments ago. Jonnie fell asleep and Scarlet was scratching Mog by his ears as he was delightfully kupoing.

_Lightning, how could you send me so wild helper!? This Piggy Kitty is mischievous: he poured buckets full of cold water on me and Hope. I had such a wonderful dream...that we're together: you, my Hero, Vanille, and Fang. But Hope is right: illusions shouldn't cover the view on the truth, but show my deepest concerns. But I still thank you for Mog: even though he's very unruly, he's very dear._

„We're nearly there!", Serah heared Sazh's voice from the speaker which woke her up.

The airship landed nearly at the entrance to the ruins, in a little valley. Some gaps opened in the machine and metal 'legs' spread comfortably on the rock shelves greatly decreasing chance of airship falling into the deep. Serah ran out from the passenger part and lifeless metropoly, the capital of the pristine ran Pulse, appeared in front of her eyes. Building were as tall as skyscrappers of Academia and some building had devices similar to fans through which wind gently blew. Serah jumped off from a steep slope to the ruins and started to climb the stone steps. Then she saw plaza full of columns on which there were some symbols: Serah was suspecting that texts might be written in some language which is now long lost.

„Calm down, girl!", breathless Sazh caught up with her. „I know how much you wish to find Lightning, but I'd prefer if you took a bit slower. For the old man", and he smiled.  
„It seems that Rygdea found a wrong guy!", Jonnie shouted from below.  
„Ku..._pooo_!", Mog breathed. It seems he wasn't a long distance moogle-type.

Hope was leisurely walking talking about something with Scarlet which once again ruffled Lorand.

„...but we still managed to win that match, thanks to Rovi's help", he was finishing his relation.  
„Lorand!", Serah shouted which greatly gladdened the young man who quickly run up to the girl. „You know this writing system?", she asked him pointing at the red symbols on columns.  
„I've never seen anything like it before."  
„When I was travelling with Lightning on Gran Pulse we were in these ruins, but the symbols were absent during that time", Sazh said.  
„Maybe it's connected with Lightning?", Hope asked.  
„Nah, kupo!", Mog interfered. „These are Etro's runes, kupo."  
„Can you read them?", Serah asked with hope in her voice.  
„No, kupo. They don't teach runes at moogle schools, kupo."  
„So what do they teach?", Jonnie angered.  
„It's a moogle secret, kupo!"  
„Calm down. Both of you", Scarlet was controlling the situation.  
„But there must be someone who will be able to read these...", Serah was worried. „Mog, don't you know where Farseers might be? It's possible that only they will be able to know these runes."  
„I don't know, kupo", Mog worried.  
„We have two more places", Hope said: „to the north of New Bodhum there's a path to the ruins of the city of Haerii and on the edge of Gran Pulse there's Oerba."  
„Vanille and Fang's home...", Serah wondered.  
„That's right", he confirmed.  
„Boy, Gran Pulse are not only ruins-exclusive, no, no", Sazh reminded him. „There are whole uncharted extents. Forests, mountains, caves, and other ruins..."  
„Miss Farron, we can start conducting research on these ruins, but it might be very time-consuming and finding the Farseers might greatly help with the matter, but then again the search might take days, months, years...", Scarlet started to analyse the discovery and possibilities.  
„I'll study these runes even if I had to die", Lorand said.  
„Die?", Serah frightened.  
„Your sister saved my life during training in the Vile Peaks four years ago. I promised myself then that I will repay her for that. That moment had come."  
„Th-thank you, but I think I'll do without sacrifices", Serah muttered. „Im sure that Lightning would be happy hearing your words."  
„_Stop_", from an unknown directionthey heard mystic, female voice. „_Let the fallen rest. Let them dream_", and the voice disappeared.  
„What was that?", Hope reacted.  
„Maybe one of the Farseers", Serah said. „Farseers are a nomadic tribe, Mog said that."  
„Kupo!", Mog happily interefered.  
„But what do they wanted with the ruins?", Sazh substantively asked.  
„I think they want to protect the past, but we must delve in it if we are to find Lightning."  
„You think so, Miss Farron?", Scarlet asked.  
„I don't even think", Serah said after a moment of thinking. „I _know_ it."  
„How you can be so confident, hm?", Jonnie asked.  
„I don't know", Serah replied and started to look around the ruins and looks at the runes on the columns, and so the others did.

When the sun was setting, the group of researchers haven't discovered anything. When Jonnie ordered return to the airship explaining that they'll come back tomorrow and will continue the research. Yet Serah wanted to continue the research; her eyes were sparkling with with near-honey light.

„Lightning would surely continue the research!", the pink-haired girl was explaining herself.  
„It's dark, and blood-sucking monsters come out at dark", Sazh was trying to appeal to Serah's reason. „If you'll leave these columns for a night nothing will happen to them."  
„This is my sister! I can't leave her like that! You don't even know how much she sacrificed for me!"  
„Serah, Sazh's right", Hope said. „I know how much you owe to Light but you must now the limit between sense and foolishness."  
„Nothing will threaten Serah as long as she's with me, kupo!", Mog interfered reminding of his existence.  
„Wh-what is that!?", Lorand frightened when the sky turned into bloody colours and a shrill clamor emanated from the ruins depths., which materialised into a dragon of a size of a small fal'Cie. It was covered with crystal husks which reminded of rubies due to their colour; snout was similar to cobra's head, like the tail, but the wings were enormous and were similar to the bats' ones.  
„'_The_ _Ruby Dragon_'", Serah said if she was in a trance. „'_Guardian of the Sands of Time_'."  
„Whatever it is we must act _quickly_!", Jonnie yelled.

Scarlet quicklt drew four Antimatter Manipulation Principles and gave three of them to Sazh , Jonnie, and Lorand, and left one for herself. Hope was using magic he drew from the crystal, same as Serah, who had an additional help of Mog. The reptile took off and then dive and hit strongly Scarlet and Jonnie neutralising them.

„D-Damn", Lorand cursed.  
„Agreed!", Hope added.  
„Instead of uselessly talk, you would thought about how to kill that thing!", Sazh snarled. „Serah and me won't be able to do this alone!"

The dragon opened its snout and to everyone's surprise dark, formless mass energed from the monster's jaws. Serah, Sazh, and Hope quickly dodged to the sides, but Lorand didnt manage to act and the dark mass entangled him.

„Lorand!", Serah squaked and suddenly went into battle rage and started to send magical arrows at the dragon in an extemely rapid succession and each shot was squeaked 'kupo!'. „No-one touches my friends!", she added to the monster which only drove it mad.  
„Serah, watch out!", Hope jumped to Serah and fell with her causing the dragon to miss with his attack using its massive tail.

Sazh started to shoot at the Ruby Dragon's eyes, but strangely the bullets couldn't reach them: it was like they missed its 'face'. Then he aimed for the wings which caused to them to get some holes.

„Hope! Help me distracting that thing from Serah!", Sazh shouted to the boy. „Serah, you cut its those ugly wings when he'll be concetrated on us!"  
„Alright!", Serah replied and Hope run to Sazh and started provoke the beast together by attacking its various body parts.

The dragon stood up on the rear paws, opened its jaw, and Hope shouted:

„Serah! Cut it!"

„Serah instantly changed her bow into the sword, run to the monster, and jumped up intensively swinging the sword. Appalled Serah cut its both wings at once, and the dragon fell, but still wasn't giving up. The monster raised its giant head and started to throw spheres charged with _very_ high tension. Serah managed to blocked one of the sphere with the sword which stridently kupoed.

„Had these Farseers nothing more interesting to do?", Sazh yelled casting water-elemental spells at the beast.  
„Look!", Hope shouted. He was pointing at a strange husk, or rather her absence, at the beast's throat.  
„Time for daddy!", Sazh roared and casted a very powerful that raised his physical strength and then he flashed with red light and started to shoot salve of bullets at the uncovered part of the monster's body.  
„Serah, stab it!", Hope shouted.  
„I'm on it!", she yelled and rushed into the dragon with a speed of a chocobo with straight outstretched hand in which she was holding the sword. Blade pierced through monster's skin who dispersed into black smoke.

The dark mass released Lorand, while Jonnie and Scarlet woke up.

„Wh-where is it?", said Lorand under his nose.  
„We dealt with it", Serah answered happily, then the sword shined anf turned back into Mog.  
„Kupo...", he whispered. „hunderbolts are terrible, kupo!"  
„You did great, Mog", Sazh added some uplift to Mog.  
„Thankupo!"  
„How good to have Mog in the team!", Scarlet breathed still breathing heavily. „So small, yet so brave and strong!"  
„Kupopo!", Mog fell into self-admiration and was giggling under his big nose. Yet still, the sky was still in the colours of blood.  
„Something's wrong with the sky", Hope said. „We defeated that dragon so suposedly the sky should return to its original state. Or is there something else you want to tell us, Serah?"  
„'Tell something else'?", Serah wondered. „But what did I say?"  
„But you said that this beast is called the Ruby Dragon and is a 'guardian' of some sort."  
„Really?"  
„Girl, everyone here heard that, right Lorand?", Sazh said.  
„Y-yes!", slightly tongue-tied you man said.  
„I...don't remember anything like it", the girl replied.

Then columns started to emanate with green light and the runes started to create something akin to an oval screen in the sky. A scene appeared on the screen: dark-haired woman changes into a mythical beast, Ragnarok, and damaged Cocoon's shell, when the violet-haired man emanating with white light causes their early crystallisation. After that, screen dispersed and the sky returned to its original, evening state.

„Wh-who is that man?", Serah asked herself deep in her heart.

_Dreams of a perfect world, Etro's runes, the Ruby Dragon, and now that 'vision'...What's happening? These two women had to be Fang and Vanille, but that man? It's the first time I see him. It's possible that he's the answer to the whole thing, to the 'key'. But what if that man is that 'key', considering he looks very powerful, what am I to do with him to retrieve Lightning. Ask him, kill him? I want so much that you would be here with me, Sister. With my 'Hero', but will it come to that?_

In a cold, icy cave on the edge of Valhalla, Lightning was sitting next to a grand crystal, inside which there was a woman. Lightning was vaguely seeing the woman's figure, but she was sure that he had ravenblack hair and pale skin.

„Etro, I fight at your side for so long that I can't even remember how long it has been. Days? Months? Years? Eternity? And that man whowages war against you and wants to save Yeul...But it wouldn't happen, if Barthandelus did nothing. Desire to reunite with the 'Maker' caused Pulse's activity and Bhunivelze's slow awakening from his slumber, which haven't happened yet, thanks to you."  
„Claire", Lightning suddenly heard Yeul's voice, „you myst fight, but not kill. If he were to die, the 'balance' would come on the edge of be or not to be. As long as you won't get the 'key', the curse of the battle will be written to you till the end of Eternity.  
„Etro also mentioned something about the 'key'. Can you tell me more?", Lightning was talking to the wall as the voice was coming out of it. At least she thought so.  
„The 'key' is not of this World. It belongs to the Visible World in which in deep sadness your sister lives. But you can't leave this world. It would mean Etro's departure, causing the Day of Rebirth to happen and the destruction of the whole Universe for the sake of the new one."  
„'Day of Rebirth'? Is it connected to Barthadelus?"  
„Barthadelus was nothing more that an instrument of destruction summoned by Pulse. His crystal was corrupted long before he was created. The Day of Rebirth will be postponed if Bhunivelze will fall into the nonenity, the end of time", the voices which appeared with Yeul disappeared so Lightning came to the conclusion that Yeul 'left'.  
„Hard times awaits Serah, harder than being l'Cie", Lightning was worried about her sister. „But I know she'll pull it through. She'll have lots of friends, but also enemies; it's inevitable."

The crystal with Etro radiated with faint, blue light and Lightning experienced a 'vision' in which a blond-haired man with slight beard wearing red shirt, dirty boots, trousers, and coat which were torn in many places as well as indestructible, black leather gloves. He was standing next to a great river which was surrounded by crystals, debris, and flan of all kinds.

„'Hero'? He's more of an idiot who thinks that he'll do everything alone", and Lightning smiled.

_My dear Sister, I know how hard it is for you, carrying the burden of that who is to protect the balance of the world. But there are many events ahead of us, which will draw us closer to each other: „one event is one step", I explain it that way to myself. But so much has happened to me and I don't think it's even half way. But we need to move forward and don't give up, as even the smallest error, the smallest hesitation, may end not only for us, but for all the existence _tragically_. Then please hope and grow in strength as without them existence as yours as well as mine might 'disappear'. Good bye, Serah._


	6. Episode Five: First Fight

**Episode Five**

**First Fight**

After the conversation with Etro, Light went to the plaza where was a violet-haired man wearing violet, tribal armour, wielding a large ambidextrous sword with mysterious eye.

„Ah, the new warrior goddess?", he said to her with irony.  
„And you're Barthandelus's minion, I pressume?", Lightning replied with equal irony.  
„As always sharp as a knife", he replied, „but sadly 'no', Lightning."  
„We know each other?"  
„We met each other many times before, but you don't remember anything. Always foolish and naive", he scoffed and directed his sword's blade at the woman.  
„Put aside that knife or you'll hurt someone", Lightning proposed.  
„'Knife', you say? And how you like _this_!?", and the man suddenly waved his sword and a light wave hit the woman.

Lightning conjured her gunblade in the sword mode and attacked the opponent, but he was using his sword as a shield. The man hit her with the sword and she flew against the stone wall and blood spilled from her lips.

„The goddess made the wrong choice again...", the man thought, „and I started to have hope that I would meet an opponent equal to me, but now...", he started, but coulfn't finish as the woman surprised him as she stood up and started to shoot at him hurting him in the left arm. „Eh. Could expect that. If you want something tougher, then you'll get it!", the man yelled. „_Wings of night!_", he shouted and dark mass formed around him creating intransparent, purple sphere from which a violet dragon with many wings and claws as large as the man's sword emerged.  
„What the—?", Lightning started, but had to block the fireball with the shield  
„_Call Odin, Clare_", Lightning heard Etro's voice in her head.

Lightning closed her eyes and grasped her right breast with the left hand. She felt something angular and scabrous and when she opened the hand she noticed her eidolith in it. She threw it in the air, changed her gunblade into a gun and shot at the crystal which shone with bright pale pink light. A white horse was riding in the air. He was covered in gold-and-sea-blue armour and had two blades attacked at sides. Lightning nimbly got atop the horse and blocked another fireball from the dragon. The beast roared and took off. It started generating a large sphere there, filled with the darkest magic of Valhalla.

„We're playing football, or what?", Lightning said ironically and in that moment the sphere went into Lightning.

The womanquickly drew her shield in front of her and started to push the black matter back which exploded after a while. Lightning didn't manage to react and started to fall. The sinister dragon rushed at the woman with insane speed, but still active Odin managed to protect his lady and the encounter with the beast caused the horse to disappear and returned the dragon to its human body.

„Eh— A bit better, but still not good enough!", the man yelled continuing his chase after the falling Lightning.

Then the woman suddenly regained her strength and deftly landed on the ground. She felt some holy power within herself. „_What is that magic?_", she thought.

„The goddess will not help you _endlessly_", said the man while landing on the ground. „She'll weaken someday and will start again regenerating her powers."  
„What do you want from Etro?", Lightning asked with angered voice.  
„This information is not for you. Now die!", and he sent a windblow from his large sword whic was blocked by Lightning via her shield.  
„Stop playing your games with me."

„These are not 'games', but wishes."  
„Then I wish you'd be _crushed_!", Lightning yelled and threw herself at man who went berserk: the woman was slashing with her gunblade countess times as well as was intensively kicking. In the end she sent a sphere of white energy.  
„Shi...", bloody man was wiping from the wounds while kneeling. „Do you _never_ give up?", he snarled.

„As long as there is hope—_never_."

Suddenly a small, oval portal with fluid, black substance within iyself appeared above the man. From the portal a white, fluffy teddy with big nose and bat wings fell. He luckily fell on the man knock outing him.

„Kupo! What that woman though when telling me about the 'end of the world' and 'Day of Rebirth', kupo! And that very unmoogly push into that hole, kupo!", the creature was frustrating.  
„Nice entrance, no comment:, said Lightning.  
„Oh, kupo!", the creature astounded. „Who're you?"  
„I'm Lightning, and you?"  
„Mog, kupo."  
„A moogle? I thought these are some fairy tales", Lightning was astonished.  
„And I thought that people are some fairy tale, kupo", Mog irritated.  
„Listen, small guy, I have little time...", Lightning started to talk as something have hust crossed her mind, but the creature interrupted her.  
„I'm not small guy, kupo!"  
„Okay, listen, _Mog_. I have a 'special mission' for you: you'll go look for my sister, her name is 'Serah', and you'll get the message to her."  
„Oh, do I look like a delivery moogle, kupo?", Mog frustrated.

„You're the only person who can help me."  
„If I can help than with pleasure, kupo!"  
„Tell her to look for the 'key' and that without it the world might end. And give her this", Lightning conjured a sky blue crystal tear. „The road ahead will be full of danger."  
„Then I'll willingly travel with her, kupo! I will cut and shoot, kupo!"  
„You can these things? That's good. Now go!", Lightning grabbed the moogle into her hand and threw him back into the portal. „Tell her that I love her and miss her!", she added.

_Serah, I just met a man who is very mysterious: he doesn't want to reveal why he wants to destroy Etro; he may not even realise what he'll do by accomplishing it. During my 'first' fight against him, even though he says that there were _far_ more of them, I haven't nearly lost my life, but the goddess saved me, and then the mysterious Mog appeared, a moogle from another dimension. I asked him for help as I cannot leave Valhalla knowing that this man can end not only her, but the entire Universe's existence. Now I can only have hope that you will succeed and will get that 'key', whatever that is. Good luck, and know that I miss you._

When the portal closed, the man woke up and started to waver,

„These little eyesores from the Ocean of Time will pay someday", said under his nose. „And you're still alive, hm?"  
„You have eyes, don't you?", Lightning snarled.  
„The Warriors who are chosen by the goddess doesn't survive up to a hundred battles, but as of now we had over a thousand of them. But still you are weak."  
„You need some convincement, Bhunivelze's brood?"  
„There's still so much ahead f you. Child", the man jumped up and hit the woman crushing her with his sword's weight. Lightning managed to minimalise the damage by using her shield. „You'll use some petty shield? Fight like a real warrior!"  
„Moments of disappointments await you, stinker", assured Lightning replied to him.

Lightning pushed the man back releasing herself from him. She then nimbly got up, jumped back and assumed a battle pose: slightly squatting, left hand extended on which she was waring her shield, and the gunblade in the sword mode in her right hand, pointing with the blade at her opponent. The man however was holding his sword in the right hand with the blade pointing the ground.

„Let's dance", Lightning said and started her attack by a thrudt and the man deflected her attack.  
„I see you're warming up", the man said with slight satisfaction.  
„You ain't seen nothing yet", Lightning said assured of herself and continued the fight.

And the fight continues till the end of time...


	7. Episode Six: Lunatic Pandora

**Episode Six**

**Lunatic Pandora**

„Light...ning...", Serah whispered and fell on the ground.

Hope, Mog, Sazh, Scarlet, Jonnie, and Lorand rushed to her at once. Mog quickly conjured a bucket of water and spilt its content on Serah, but that didn't helped the girl.

„We're taking her to Academia!", Sazh shouted. „Jonnie, take Serah gently to the airship! We're going to the hospital at once!"  
„Kupokupo!", Mog was worried. The creature thought that that bucket of cold water might help Serah, but it didn't change anything.  
„W-what happened to her?", Lorand was in the greatest shock. He really wanted for Serah to be happy, but in the current situation he didn't know what to do.

The group quickly went to the airship and Sazh arrived at the hospital in a blink of the eye. Meanwhile, Scarlet informed the hospital that they are coming with an unconscious girl and they don't know what happened to her.

The moment that airship touched the landing atop the hospital the group of doctors and nurses came and took Serah to conduct detailed tests of her. Mog, Lorand, and Hope left the airship, and Sazh together with Jonnie and Scarlet went back to the Academy explaining that doctors would ask them to leave and that they have to write a report on what hd happened at the excavations.

„Stupid excuses, kupo", Mog was angry. „Serah is very important, kupo!"  
„I can understand Jonnie and Scarlet, but Sazh...Why he didn't want to stay with Serah?", Hope wondered.  
„I think that Mr. Katzroy does this because of Dajh: he possibly doesn't want to worry the boy and he had it rough himself; he probably doesn't want to have too much on his head", Lorand said with argumentative tone.  
„Better let's head in and wait for what the doctors will say", Hope proposed and the three entered the hospital.

They entered a circular, glass lift and went to the ground floor. There they went to the waiting room where Mog instantly became an attraction.

„What these people want from this poor moogle, kupo?", Mog wondered.  
„You're the first moogle they see in their life. Simple", Hope replied.  
„So they can shoot a photo of me and adore it, but must leave me alone, kupo", Mog frustrated.  
„In your case you will need to get used to these kind of behaviour, sir", Lorand informed Mog.

After several hours of tests, an old man appeared in the waiting room, he seemed to have about seventy years old, was wearing a medical outfit and asked if there was someone from „Miss Farron". Mog, Hope, and Lorand instantly approached him.

„How is she? Will she live?", Hope started.  
„I'd advise you to sit down", the doctor advised. „The thing that you will hear is something that may surpass your notion. It actually surpassed ours as well."  
„I've been through much, so I don't think nothing will surprise me", said Hope.  
„If you say so...", the doctor sighed. „Miss Farron is _well_."  
„WHAT!?", Hope shouted so loudly that everyone in the waiting room flinched.  
„We cannot explain this...Seems like everything is in norm, but something is different. Something fromanother world..."  
„What if it's that Ruby Dragon's doing?", Lorand shuddered and slowly slumped on the floor.  
„It doesn't have to be the doing of that dragon", said somwhat calm Hope. „Maybe it's doing of someone else? Three years ago Barthandelus was manipulating Cocoon to his liking."  
„Kupo!", Mog squeeked which interested the doctor, Hope, and Lorand.  
„Mog, have something happened?", Hope asked.  
„I have remembered something, kupo! In the moogle school they were talking about a 'Lunatic Pandora', kupo."  
„W-what is it?", Lorand was very shakened by Serah's situation: he wanted for her to be happy.  
„'Lunatic Pandora' is something complicated, kupo. Some call it a 'gift', but others a 'curse', kupo."  
„You mean the ability to metamorphose dependant on the moon's phase?', the doctor interrupted.  
„Yes-yes, kupo! How did you know, kupo?"  
„I don't think you read the entries and the Academy's terminals carefully. But if you search, you'll find even this tiny and uncharted information."  
„Mog, c-could you t-tell something more a-about that Lunatic Pandora?", Lorand asked.  
„Mrs. Molulu told that to the first tribe on the 'Planet' the goddess gave 'Pandora', kupo."  
„And what is 'Pandora'?", Hope interrupted.  
„Moment, kupo!", Mog frustrated. If you're going to interrupt me then it'll take me whole eternity to tell it, kupo?"  
„Sorry, Mog."  
„'Pandora' is a crystal which houses souls of all monsters in the entire timeline: the good, and the bad alike, kupo. The seeress who was the leader of the first city organised a tournament in which Pandora was the main prize, kupo."  
„But why Etro gave them that Pandora?", Hope interrupted again.  
„Wait, kupokupo! Pandora gives power to change into any monster and that gift is used to protect that seeress, kupo. But I don't know who was that seeress. Mrs. Molulu didn't tell us about her much and no-one really was interested in it, kupo."  
„We know where 'Pandora' comes from, buy why 'Lunatic'?", Hope was inquiring.  
„Because of what will the bearer of the Pandora turn into depends from the moon phase, kupo."  
„So where did the connection between Lunatic Pandora and Serah come from?", the silver-haired boy was drilling the topic.  
„Kupokupo!", Mog irritated. „I'm about to tell you, kupo! Mrs. Molulu was also mentioning a legend according to which the Pandora was lost before the construction of Paddra and was found once against after the War of Transgression on Cocoon, but no-one knows how and where, kupo", angry Mog finished.  
„I-it doesn't explain much of revelance between the Pandora and Serah", Lorand interjected.  
„It was during the lesson, I have it in my head, but I can't find that information, kupo...", Mog worried.  
„I am sure that you will discover more information about this Pandora", the doctor started, but suddenly a nurse came to the waiting room and said:  
„Doctor Banon, the patient from Room Six asks for conversation with someone called Locke..."  
„Miss Branford?", the doctor sighed. „It's eighth time today that she requests a conversation with 'Locke Cole'. Her amnesy is horrible..."  
„Can we visit Serah, kupo?", the concerned moogle asked.

„Well, I don't see any contraindications, but please don't pay much attention to her. The only thing that Miss Farron does is sleeping and...nevermind", Banon replied and went with the nurse, probably to the Room Six.

Sulky Hope, Mog, and Lorand entered the elevator and went on the thirteenth floor where in the Room Four Serah was.

Mog flew to Serah and slowly layed himself on Serah's brests in a position to sleep but he didn't intend to sleep, but listen to her heartbeat and feel girl's warmth. Lorand approached the window and was looking at the streets flooded with the night's darkness and was tormented by his thoughts of not being able to protect Serah and that her sister will be angry at him because he can't protect the weak. Hope grabbed Serah's hand and was staring at girl's face with concern. He was thinking about what happened that evening in the Ruins: runes of Etro, unnknown voices, the Ruby Dragon, and girl's weird behaviour...

Suddenly, Serah's lips slightly opened, and Mog quickly moved up to her face to be able to hear any words, if any where to be spoken.

„Hero from the woods at Sunleth. Find Pandora and free me from the godess's burden", and she went silent.  
„Serah!", Hope suddenly reacted.  
„I don't think it'll help, kupo...", Mog muttered.  
„Of what 'Hero' is Miss Farron speaking?", Lorand was intrigued.  
„Three years ago during my journey as a l'Cie I met her fiancé who was saying that he's a 'Hero'. I think she meant him. But what is about that Sunleth part?"  
„But as a fiancé shouldn't he be with his love?", the young man wondered.  
„To tell the truth, I didn't really think of that", Hope admited. „After our meeting with NORA at New Bodhum and explaining a few things I decided to go with Serah, but I actually never thought of asking that."  
„In either case, we need to inform Mr. Katzroy about Serah's words", Lorand said and left for the corridor in oroder to call to Sazh.  
„Mog? Will you stay with Serah and care for her? While I'll go to the Sunleth to look for her 'Hero'?", Hope asked.  
„In theory I should stay with Serah, but I rather to go with you, kupo", Mog sighed. „I don't know if Lightning would be happy, but I think nothing can threaten her at the moment, kupo."  
„Won't she turn into a monster? You said that this Lunatic Pandora...", Hope started, but Mog interrupted him:  
„I remember that legend says that „just like that" no-one turns into a monster, because he have Lunatic Pandora, kupo."  
„Okay. It's decided then."

Lorand came back and said that Sazh will pick Hope and Mog up in the morning, but he, Jonnie and Scarlet will stay to continue the research at the Ruins of Paddra.

„Let's go back to the apartments", Lorand said and the three left Serah's room and decended via the lift to the ground floor from where they went to a taxi and asked the driver to take them to the Academy.

(Hope) _Lightning, where are you? Your sister needs you like never before in her life. What could have happened to you so that we have to go on the search? And why Mog seems to have leaky memories? He remembers many information, but th most important seems to be locked away. Like someone doesn't want us to know the 'truth'. Tomorrow morning, I'm going with Sazh and Mog to do some 'Hero'-hunting in the Sunleth, but is he still alive? Maybe the flan managed to 'eat' him? You know how much hay he has in this head of his._

„Averia! Behind you!", Lightning was yelling at the woman with raven-black hair, green eyes and wearing the same armour as Lightning.  
„Here you go, you freaky rat!", Averia shouted shooting from her magic bow at the purple-haired man, who firmly hit into his face from an exploding arrow. A stream of blood started to flood from the man's right cheek.  
„You still cannot understand that Etro uses you!?", the man strongly believing that his motives are good.  
„But it's because of Etro's blessing that the humanity exists!", Averia squeeled with squeaky voice.  
„Wrong! We are just puppets of the gods!", the warrior was convicing the women.  
„Maybe so, but we won't let you destroy the one who lets us live!", Lightning replied.

Averia changed her bow into daggers, and Lightning changed her weapon's mode into 'sword' and the women threw themselves at the man. The raven-black hair woman began to 'cut' with her daggers, and the pink-haired one was performing various stunts and hurting the man in many places, but the man was still fierce opponent despite being heavily wounded and hit Averia strongly with his sword. Lightning quickly conjured a dark whirl of matter and threw it at the opponent and healed her ally with the salve of Curasas.

„Bringers of the death...", the man snarled at the women. „Your attempts are only bringing closer the end of the Universe!"

The man was veiled in a purple mist and dissappeared leaving the women alone. Lightning an Averia dispersed their weapons and started to talk.

„Who are you?", Lightning asked.  
„I'm Averia. I was the first chilf to be born as a fruit of love of two people after Etro created humanity. And you?"  
„Lightning."  
„You'll tell me just that? Your name? Where are you from? How did you end up here?"  
„Is it that important? I only need named, but regarding our opponent...", Lightning started.  
„Light, if I can call you that", 'Yes', Lightning interrupted, „understanding our past can help us in the battle against him."  
„And who says that? A girl who is the first child in the world and have as much history as people in her tribe", said slightly frustrated Lightning.  
„Then tell me about my future!", Evaria was excited.  
„Look there", Lightning pointed the girl the dark water. „Looking into this water you can see past, present, and future, but only that which awaits Cocoon and Gran Pulse."  
„Cocoon? Gran Pulse?", the girl was surprised. „What are these strange names?"  
„You just need to look into the tractc and you'll get to know everything. And...don't hurry up. I have _a lot_ time."  
„Thanks", Averia replied and run to the beach.

_Serah, I hope that Mog, Hope, and Sazh will find your 'Hero' as only he can save you from this state, because love is now more important than ever. Do not let that state of bliss deceive you as it will only lead into oblivion and then not even Etro can save you._

_And Averia...Remember that even the most sincere wishes and abilities, keeping the balance of the Universe intact is not easy and is our eternal task. Even though you have little experience, you handle a battle pretty well, Averia._


End file.
